Athlete of the Week: Terra Nova’s Jack Gillen

“So, this is really his first year,” Terra Nova head coach Sirena Konishi-Rhode said.

With just two tournaments under his belt, Gillen has already made a splash. He has earned the championship in the heavyweight bracket in each, first at the Dec. 4 season-opener Peninsula Invitational in Half Moon Bay, and most recently at Saturday’s Bill Martell Invitational at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek.

Gillen’s run at the Bill Martel Invitational has earned him Daily Journal Athlete of the Week honors. He pinned three straight opponents, including Kennedy-Fremont’s Junaid Khan in the championship match, a dramatic second-round triumph that came with one second remaining in the period.

What’s more impressive is Gillen’s success despite his stature. While the heavyweight division technically starts at 285 pounds, Gillen weighs in at a mere 265 pounds. He felt the difference in Saturday’s semifinal match against Windsor’s Tommy Shaw. With the larger opponent on top of him, Gillen said it felt like his lungs were getting crushed.

“As soon as the match started, as soon as you get into a tie with them, you can just feel the strength of your opponent,” Gillen said.

But Gillen has a secret weapon in his corner — his football conditioning.

As a third-year varsity football lineman, pulling double duty as a guard and defensive tackle, Gillen has the cardio to go deep into matches. Not that he’s needed it. In posting a perfect 6-0 record this season, five of Gillen’s wins have come via pin. The sixth — the championship match at the season-opening Half Moon Bay tourney — came via default.

“He was in football shape,” Konishi-Rhode said of Gillen arriving in the wrestling room this season. “So, he came to us with some pretty good conditioning already in place. And it was a matter of him getting back on the mat, dusting off his shoes and getting his wrestling moves back. Since he’s been off the mat so long, we weren’t sure how much he’d actually remember. But … once he started practicing, the moves came back to him very quickly.”

Gillen’s season debut was somewhat underwhelming.

In his debut at the Dec. 4 HMB tourney, the senior was pitted against his Terra Nova teammate Frank Ward. His second match saw him meet Mills senior Benjamin Garcia. The semifinal victory, a first-round pin, was a gratifying moment. But when his opponent from Leigh-San Jose defaulted due to injury in the championship round, Gillen was left feeling underwhelmed with his first varsity wrestling success.

“It was an accomplishment, but I didn’t feel like I really earned it,” Gillen said. “So, this one meant a lot more ... because I felt like I just didn’t get it handed to me by beating one of my teammates.”

Topping the podium at the Bill Martel Invitational proved a challenge. A majority of the 35 teams at the tournament were from outside the CCS. Gillen wasn’t familiar with any of the three wrestlers he faced. Still, he earned the No. 2 seed to start the day.

He never did face the No. 1 seed, Concord junior Jose Ortiz, who was eliminated in the semifinals in a 7-4 decision against Khan.

Khan outweighed Gillen by plenty. But Gillen trusted in his endurance. And as the seconds began winding down in the second round, the senior knew it was time to make his move. Gillen had already gained the upper hand, sprawling across with his opponent stomach down on the mat. And as Gillen slipped an arm under his to execute a half nelson, he looked at the clock and saw there were seven seconds remaining in the period.

Gillen used the momentum to flip his opponent and drive his shoulders into the mat for the championship victory with hardly any time to spare.

“I knew that it was close but as soon as I hear the ref slap the mat, I got up and started celebrating,” Gillen said.

Gillen said he is determined to remain in the heavyweight division this season. Terra Nova has some depth toward the top of its lineup, with Ward at 220s and Jordan Tosetti at 190s.

“I’ll probably want to stay in the heavyweight division because it’s better for the team,” Gillen said. “Then we have a more balanced roster for the tournaments and the dual meets going forward.”

While he will be challenged with adding more weight this season — Gillen said he is aiming to put on five to 10 pounds of muscle by season’s end — he certainly has the work ethic to do so, this a vote of confidence coming from Terra Nova’s fourth-year head coach.

“I don’t see dedication being a problem,” Konishi-Rhode said.